The North Park Collegiate Trojans used their size and speed to capture the Athletic Association of Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk girls’ soccer championship.
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The Trojans defeated the St. John’s College Green Eagles 3-0 in the championship game played Wednesday at Bisons Alumni North Park Sports Complex.
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“I thought it was an amazing game,” Niamh Kukla of the Trojans said following the game. “I knew it was going to be tough and I’m glad we were able to get out of the gate quickly.
“I’m really proud of everyone and how they pushed up their intensity.”
A fourth year student at North Park who will be heading off to university next year, this was Kukla’s first soccer championship.
“It feels amazing to be finishing on a winning note,” Kukla said.
Her teammate Abbey MacNeil also used the word “amazing” to describe the win.
“We’ve played St. John’s before and we’ve been battling with them all year,” MacNeil said. “We’ve been pushing and improving as a team so winning today is really special.”
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MacNeil said the win was the result of improved communication among the players and hard work.
Although North Park scored three impressive goals, Kukla said strong play of the team’s defense was a big factor in the win.
“Defense was something we worked on all season and it really paid off,” Kukla said. “I’m really proud of our defenders played.”
Stellar defense was important in the outcome because the Green Eagles played a strong ball control game. They stopped the Trojans at half and kept most of the play in the Trojans defensive end for most of the first half.
However, the Trojans countered with their size and speed and managed to get the ball into the St. John’s end of the field. Jada Arthurs received a pass, created some space for herself and sent a shot into the top corner of the Green Eagles net out of the reach of keeper Kieli Kaczur.
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Although the Trojans had the lead, the Green Eagles, supported by the wind at their backs, continued to keep much of the play in their offensive zone.
However, good scoring opportunities were hard to come by because the Trojan defense was solid.
Hayden Lombardi, who earned the clean sheet for the Trojans, had to make a couple of saves but was otherwise unchallenged in the first half.
The Trojans scored their second goal of the game when Emilie Galerne evaded two St. John’s defenders to reach a through ball and toe poke it behind Kaczur.
The first half ended with the Trojans leading 2 – nil.
In the second half, the Trojans had the wind in their favor and the play was more evenly split with both teams getting scoring opportunities.
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Kaczur made some excellent saves including one off a header from a corner kick which would have given the Trojans a third goal and likely put the game out of reach. A few minutes later, Kaczur made another outstanding save to keep her teammates in the game.
The Green Eagles, meanwhile, had better scoring opportunities in the second half but still found it difficult to get solid scoring opportunities.
The Trojans put the game away when Taylor Rombout managed to get free in the box to put one past Kaczur.
Caitlin Osborn said it was an aggressive game and the Green Eagles just needed to get more shots on net.
“They had a solid line at the back,” Osborn said.
Osborn, who graduated this year, said she has had a great experience at St. John’s.
“It has been so much fun,” Osborn said. “Everyone is so close and it makes it so much easier and fun both on and off the field.”
Her teammate Addison Cann said the Green Eagles worked hard and she’s proud of the team’s efforts.
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